In the Name of the Father, and of the +
Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
In the very familiar words of the beginning of St. John’s
Gospel, there is a phrase that sticks out. I think many people pass over it
without understanding and don’t give it a second thought. There are also many
who have noticed the various translations of the phrase but again, do not
bother to inquire. Then, there are those who puzzle over this phrase’s meaning
but find so much more to ponder in the rest of the chapter that one confusing
phrase is not worth the time to understand.
The phrase of which I speak is “The light shines in the
darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.”[1]
You may have read or heard it read as “The light shines in the darkness, and
the darkness has not overcome it.”[2]
In order to understand this sentence, we must identify the light; identify the
darkness; and finally, understand the relationship between this darkness and
the light. The particular difficulty in this sentence is the word translated
either as “comprehend” or “overcome.” Both are valid translations of the Greek word,
but neither is particularly helpful in understanding what is being said about
the light, the darkness, or their relationship.
First, who or what is the light? The previous sentence tells
us that in the Word of God, that is, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, is
life and this life is the light of men.[3]
Generally speaking, light reveals what is hidden, guides one who is lost, and
communicates over distance. In the Son is life, and this life is the light of
men. The Life that is in Christ reveals what is hidden in man, guides man who
is lost, and communicates to us over the distant gulf created between God and
man.
We have already been told that Jesus is the Word of God, who
was in the beginning with God and was God. A Word is only beneficial if it is
spoken, and used to communicate. In this way, we can see the relationship between
Word and Light. If words are taken to heart, if they are received and the one
speaking is trusted by the one hearing, then these words will also guide the
hearer, just as light guides the one who is lost. Words can also be said to
illuminate the mind, revealing knowledge and wisdom that were once hidden. Again,
there is a similarity between Word and Light.
But what of life, the life that is in the Son and is the
Light of men? The life in the Son is ζωη, the fundamental term for
life, without which there is no existence.[4]
St. John especially takes this word and turns it into a theological term for that
eternal existence which God has placed into creation; that which makes you exist.
Hence the life that is in the Son is that essence that gives life to all
mankind. It could, quite possibly, be a reference to the Holy Spirit or simply
a reference to the origin of all life being within the Godhead, the Holy
Trinity.
All life proceeds from God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
There is nothing in the cosmos that did not originate in God. He created the
heavens and the earth. He created you and me. He continues to sustain you, me,
the heavens, the earth, and everything that fills them. If it were not for God
sustaining the universe, it would cease to exist at this very moment.
“In [the Son of God] was life, and the life was the light of
men. And the light shines in the darkness.”[5]
Who, or what is the darkness? The clearest answer is the darkness of the
sinful world. The problem with this answer is that this darkness is then
personified, treated like a person, that can either comprehend or overcome.
It is difficult to imagine, but in the beginning, there was
nothing, not even darkness. The “nothingness” into which God called creation
was not dark. It wasn’t anything. It was not a thing. Into this darkness, God
spoke a Word and called forth light. This is the beginning of all things.
Human logic and the world today insist that the world is
made of dualities. Everything must be in balance. If there is light, there must
be darkness. If there is up, there must be down. If there is life, there must
be death. This is the fundamental theology of both Star Wars and the Marvel
Universe. If there is Good, there must be equal and opposite Evil. Everything
must be in balance.
With God, it is not so. There is no equal but opposite Evil
to oppose God. Just so, in the beginning, when God created light, there was no
darkness. There was only light. As the week of creation came to an end,
certainly, there was a division between day and night, a division between days
and seasons. The sun certainly cast shadows from the trees over the fields. Yet
these shadows are not the darkness of John’s Gospel.
The darkness into which the Light of Life shines is
certainly the sinful world, but it is not an abstract sinful world. Sin did not
enter the world as a lifeless contagion, floating on the air and hoping to be
breathed in by a passerby. Sin was not an idle thing, activated by the actions
of first Eve and then Adam. The first sin was an act of man. Sin is always
an act of man. The fall of man introduced sin into the world and the rest of
creation fell because of the actions of men.
This is how darkness is personified in the first chapter of
John. The darkness is not sin as an abstract concept, personified for the sake
of poetry. The darkness is the sin dwelling in the hands and hearts of man. The
darkness is the desire to sin, inherited by every son of Adam and daughter of
Eve.
If you sit in deep, deep darkness for any length of time,
and then someone turns on a bright light, your eyes will burn and immediately
you will shut your eyes. Even if the darkness was that of a prisoner’s cell and
the light was brought by your liberators, the darkness of your eyelids is more
appealing than the light of your salvation.
This is the relationship between the darkness of the sin in
your hearts and the light of life that is in Christ Jesus. No one is born
inclined toward God. No one is born indifferent to God. All mankind is born
hostile to God and His light. Such hostility is against everything God has
given to creation.
The word translated as either “comprehend” or “overcome” is
based in the word which means “to take” or “to receive.” However, it has a
prefix that intensifies the word. When put together, the word καταλαμβανω means “to take or receive from
top to bottom; to understand fully; to overtake fully.” The prefix also possibly
hints at a level of hostility. Thus, the darkness of sin is hostile toward the
Christ, even as it is impossible for sinners to fully understand, fully defeat,
or even fully receive Him.
There are those in the world who have refused to receive the
light. They prefer to sit in the darkness and dwell in the cave. They are truly
God’s own, for all of creation belongs to the Creator. They are His own, but
they do not receive Him. They refuse to receive Him. These are not only in the
darkness, but by refusing the light, they are of the darkness.
But as many have received this light, all those into whom
the Light has shined and not been refused, these have the right to be called
children of God. Those who know themselves to be lost in the darkness and welcome
the light of life to lead them on the path away from the darkness are given
such desire not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man,
but from God. These children of God have believed in the Name of the Son of
God, the Name of the Word, the Name of Jesus Christ.
These children have received, believed, and trusted the
Light that would never lead them into darkness. These children have trusted the
light such that what they might perceive as painful, unpleasant, or even
contrary to their own will, so long as the light is leading them, they will
submit themselves to Him.
The darkness tried to overcome the Light. Men believed they
had killed the light after only a few hours upon a cross. Yet the darkness
cannot overcome the light. The darkness cannot comprehend the light. The Light
cannot be contained by the darkness for He preexisted the darkness. The Light
became flesh and dwelt among man not only to overcome the darkness, but to
share His Light with you. He comes to you today that you would edge ever more
closely to the Light, leaving the darkness behind.
Behold the glory of God, the glory of the only begotten of
the Father. Behold His glory in the flesh given for you and the blood shed for
you. Behold the glory of the Light that is the Life of men. Behold the glory of
Jesus Christ.
In + Jesus’
name. Amen.
